Art of electrolysis



W. E. BAILEY.

ART OF ELECTROLYSIS.

APPL ICATION FILED NOV, 7, I921.

1 99 Patented May 23, 1922.

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. hpecification of Letters Patent. Patented ll llmywhl, hwfifiaapplication filed lt'ovember t, 19%.. tlerial llo. tltdfl.

- To all whom) it may concern."

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Belt known that l, WILLIAM E. BAILEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, District of Columbia, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in the Art of Electrolysis; and l do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to the art of electrolysis and generically consistsin passing an electrolyte past an electrode, and projecting it in a jetor jets onto an electrode surface of opposite polarity. It also consistsin spot plating by passing anelectrolyte under jet forming pressure pastan anode, forming a jet or jets and causing the jet or jets to impingeonto a cathode surface, thereby de-.

y positing at and closely adjacent to the point of'impin'g'ementofsaid-jetor jets, the metal of the electrolyte.

The hand tool or implement through -which the electrolyte is projectedin a jet may be of insulating material in which instance an electrodeacting as anode will be contained in the tool and connected .to thepositive pole of the source of current. Oh-

I viously this anode might, if desired, be of the metal of theelectrolyte, in orderto maintain the metal content of the electrolyte.llnsoluble electrodes may also be used if desired.

In case the hand tool is made of metal then l the tool itself may beconnected to the posidtl tive pole of the current source and becomes theanode. The exigencies of the work at hand and the convenience of theoperator willxletermine what type of hand tool is best of impingementbeing the place where depoeer sition takes place or in close proximitythere to, so much so that with a fine jet a metal of one color can be.deposited on a metal of another color in fine lines as in written orprinted characters. Preferably, but not necessarily the cathode shouldbe inclined or vertical to permit the surplus electrolyte to run oil andnot stand on the cathode surface being spot lated. The cathode may evenbe placed. at if the pump supplying the electrolyte to the hand toolproduces a sumciently powerful jet to pass through the electrolytestanding on the surface of the cathode.

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The surplus electrolyte flowing away from the point of impingement onthe cathode and running over other ortions of cathode surface will notdeposit on the cathode other than at points of impingement of the jet.

This discovery is of great importance in certain arts, as it .enablesspot plating either by a single jet or a series of jets as from a rosehead.

For example, when the plating over a considerable surface of an articlehas worn lid" or comes off from some defect in the original platingoperation, then a series of jets may be. directed against the surface tobe repaired.

' In the same way, if a railroad line be engraved on a copper map plateand subsequently there is a re-location of the whole or part of theroad, it is desirable to change the location on the plate and erase theoriginal showing. Heretofore this has not been done, and a new plate hadto be engraved.

y my process if deposit cop er in the engraved line, build up thesurface above the plate surface, then scrape down flush and polish.

repaired in this manner, such as parts in place. on an automobile, railsor plates of a vessel, metal parts on machinery, wood, etc., which cannot readily be removed to a plating bath.

In order that my invention may be clearly understoodfll shall describethe same with reference to the annexeddrawings, in which like parts aresimilarly designated.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of many forms of apparatus forcarrying out the method herein described;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of another form of implement;

. Fig. 3 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of forming in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an end view thereof. Referring to Figure 1, the cathodecomposed of metal or having an electrically conductive surface, hasattached thereto at some the jet portion of the implement shown llllpoint, means such as a clamp 12 or equivalent electrical conductor forconnecting wire 13 from the negative. pole of the source of current 14.

The cathode 10 is temporarily supported ovratroughor tank 15 into whichthe electrolyte drains from the cathode surface. A pump indicated at 16withdraws the electrolyte from receptacle 15 by pipe 17, delivers itthrough a flexible tube or pipe 18 of rubber, or ot er suitablematerial, to the electro-plating implement. here shown is adapted toproject a single round jet of electrolyte and comprises a receptacle 19of insulating material as a glass tube of large diameter having a jetforming nozzle or extension 20 at one end. The other end of said glasstube 19 is closed by a stopper '21, of insulating material, as rubber.

Through the stopper passes a glass tube 22 provided with a valve or stopcock 23, by which the flow of electrolyte and force of the jet can becontrolled. The rubber tube 18 is connected to the glass tube 22. Withinthe implement 19 is an anode 24, a coil of Wire for example, of copper,one end of which passes through the stopper and is provided with aterminal 25 to which a wire 26 from the positive pole of the source ofcurrent is connected.

The operation is as follows: The electrolyte as copper sulphate ispumped into and through the implement past the anode onto the cathode 10to be electroplated, in a continuous jet as a and the electrolyte thenruns off the cathode'into the trough to return into the liquid circuit.

I have discovered that plating will occur only at the point ofimpingement of the jet upon the cathode, the electrolyte running overother portions of the cathode leaving no deposit except in those caseswhere chemical deposition is expected to take place as in the'case of asolution of asilver salt electrolyte depositing silver on copper orbrass, in which case the surface around the spot to be repaired must beprotected by an insulating coating.

The implement shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is of the same type but is intendedfor larger surfaces. In this instance the large tube 27 ma be madeoffibre with a plug 28 at one end having a large number of perforations29 resembling a rose-head and producing a large number of continuousindependent jets of electrolyte. The stopper 30 of rubber is providedwith a central tube, 31, and stop cook 32. Passing through the stop orare anode rods 33 screw threaded, soldere or otherwise electricallyconnected to a metal yoke 34 of brass, copper or nickel and providedwith a binding post 35.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a modification of the implement shown in Fig.1, where the The implement implement 36 of glass has a flattened nozzle37 to produce a jet forming orifice in the form of a long slot of smallwidth. Other forms of orifices are used in accordance with therequirement of the work.

y invention is susceptible of manifold uses: for example, to eraseengraved lines from en 'raved plates; to repair the plating where theoriginal plating has flaked or peeled, especiall on large objects thatwould require large p ating tanks for replating; for the originalplating of or for repairing of large objects in place, for jewelers orsheet metal workers use, etc., in fact in connection with an work whererepairing or spot plating can e used.

11 case a pump is not at hand, the pres sure on the electrolyte can beobtained'by gravity b allowing it to flow from an elevated tan or byother means, such as by compressed air.

In repairing or plating scaled or flaked electro-plated surfaces, afterscraping the loose plating off around the spot to be plated, it-may beadvisable to thin the edges of the original platin around the spot. Thisthinning can readifir be done by reversing the electrical connections sothat the article will be connected as anode and the electrode in theimplement be connected as cathode in which casethe appropriateelectrolyte removes the original plating around the edges of theoriginal plating at the s ot to be repaired and makes them thin so t atwhen the electrical connections are reversed and the s ot is plated,these edges do not show a ridge after the work is finished. By thismeans it of course follows that when the object, upon which the jet ofelectrolyte is directed, is serving as an anode, there will be anetching effect at the point or spot where the jet contacts with theobject.

' In this manner the work may be quickly and readily cleaned andprepared for elec- 'tro-deposition.

If the container 19 or 27 is made of elec trically conductive materialit may be filled with granulated metal to act as anode or with scraps ofmetal of any shape.

I claim:

1. In the art of electrolysis, the method which comprises passing anelectrolyte past an electrode connected to one pole of a source ofcurrent, forming a jet of said electrolyte and causing the jet toimpinge on an article forming another electrode connected to the otherpole of said source of current, thereby causing electrolytic action atand closely adjacent to the point of impingement of such jet. I

2. In the art of electrolysis, the method which comprises passing anelectrolyte past an anode, forming a jet of the electrolyte and causingsaid jet to impinge on a cathode thereby depositing metal on thecathode.

Lamaze 3. In the art of electrolysis, the method which comprises pumpinga solution of a metal to be deposited past an anode contained in ananode chamber and causing a jet of said electrolyte to impinge on acathode and thereby deposit metal of the electrolyte on the cathode atthe place of impingement.

4C. In the art of electrolysis, the method which comprises forcing anelectrolyte through an anode contained in a chamber having a jetdischarge orifice and causing said 'et to impinge on a cathode.

5. n the art of electrolysis, the method, which comprises passing anelectrolyte under jet forming pressure through ananodecontaining-chamber and a plurality of jet forming orifices onto acathode.

6. In the art of electrolysis the method which comprises pumping asolution of a plating metal through a chamber containing an anode of theplating metal and a jet forming orifice in said chamber, causing the jetto impinge on a cathode and returning the electrolyte into the cycle ofoperations.

7. In the art of electrolysis the method which comprises forcing asolution of a plating metal through a chamber in contact with the samemetal as that of the plating solution and forming a jet thereof,directing the jet against the object to be plated as cathode, collectingthe electrolyte running off the cathode surface and returning it intothe liquid cycle through the anode chamber. 8. A method of spotelectroplating an article which comprises passing an electric serves asa cathode,

jet discharge, a closure for said chamber having an anode supportedtherein and a tube passing through said closure to supply electrolyteunder pressure to saidchamber.

11. A spot plating implement comprising an electrode chamber having adischarge orifice, a closure for said chamber, an electrode mounted onsaid closure to extend therein, a supply tube through the closure forelectrolyte under pressure and means to control the flow of electrolytethrough said chamber.

12. In a device for carrying out the process described, means forimpinging a jet or jets of electrolyte against a conductingsurface, saidmeans comprising a vessel adapted to receive electrolyte and providedwith one or more orifices of desired shape through which the electrolyteis projected, said vessel being also adapted to receive one or moreconductors to serve as electrodes.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name.

WILLIAM E. BAILEY.

